Reflections
by kymm
Summary: (CHAPTER FOUR ADDED) After Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley buys ECW from under her father's nose, life starts to go terribly downhill for both her and Hunter. Starts at the 7/9 RAW and will end at Invasion.
1. And All My Words Come Back To Me (7/9 RA...

Everyone warned me about marrying her

**And All My Words Come Back To Me**

_Summary:_ Hunter refelcts on the events of the 7/9 RAW. (First in a series; it will switch in perspective from Hunter to Steph until Invasion, which will be the conclusion.) I made some minor changes, because I made some stupid errors. That's what I get for not proofreading. :P 

Everyone warned me about marrying her. I thought that they just didn't know her. At the time, well, neither did I, but I thought that she was different from her brother and her father. I thought she was more like her mother. I couldn't have been more wrong. 

It took me a while to find out. I guess that I should have known something was going on by Summerslam last year, when she spent the night with Kurt Angle. 

I confronted her about it. She insisted that she had only visited Shane at the hospital, and she hadn't stayed with Kurt. I believed her. I was foolish enough to believe her. I had fallen to her charm. Now, when I look into Angle's eyes, I know that I was deceived. What I see when I look into his eyes is victory. He took the thing that meant the most to me, even more than the title did. He took the only woman that I ever really loved. I loved her so, and maybe I still do. I believed her because I loved her. I found out though, and it took me a while to accept it.

I know that she had an affair. I think she's still having it. She hides it well. But I found out. 

The marriage lasted. It wasn't a very happy one. She kept sneaking out at night, when she thought that I thought that she was always there. On screen, she pretended to be a loving, devoted wife who stood by her husband's side through thick and thin. Off-screen, she was a bitch. I may look like a dominating, pissed-off kinda guy, but I can assure you, she can be worse. 

This continued for months. I am convinced that she was with Kurt for much longer than it showed on television. It may have ended in November to the general public, but it sure as hell didn't to me. In fact, my life is still a living hell. 

I was injured. The only thing that kept me going was wrestling. I enjoyed beating the hell out of the Undertaker and Kane. It made me feel like a man. It made me feel like something, not like crap. 

I was fighting against Jericho and Benoit for the Tag Team Championship. I fell hard on my knee. That bastard, Jericho, came at me from behind. He did it to me.

I fell to the mat in pain. I knew something was wrong. I rolled out of the ring, to the cold cement floor. Jericho came after me, put me on the announce table, and put me in the Walls of Jericho. I tapped out. I was utterly humiliated, but I had to. Fortunately, I wasn't the legal man, and it didn't count. 

The details are blurry. Somehow I got out of the Walls of Jericho, and grabbed the sledgehammer from underneath the announce table. I hobbled into the ring, hit Austin with it, and the match was over. I meant to hit Benoit, but I hit Austin. 

I fell to the ground. The referee came and asked if I was all right. I told him that I was not, and he helped me out of the arena to an ambulance. 

Stephanie came with me to the hospital. She played the supportive spouse, as usual. I had surgery the following Thursday, and later, I watched in absolute amazement as she shed actual tears as she watched my surgery. I had no idea that she even cared. It was probably for the camera that was rolling. 

I was at our house in Greenwich recuperating when the confrontation happened. 

---------------------------

I was in the gym, of course, training. The doctor had given me the okay to start therapy, and I was, of course, taking full advantage of it. 

I saw the door start to open, and I stopped in curiosity. It completely opened, and it revealed Stephanie. She looked slightly hesitant, as if she knew something was going to hit the fan. 

"Steph?" I asked her. 

"Hunter, I'm going RAW tonight." She said, cutting to the chase.

I blinked in disbelief. "Why?" 

"Because I want to." She said, as if that were an explanation. 

"I thought that you were staying home to support me." I said, trying not to sound hurt. 

"You'll see." She snapped and walked out of the gym. It was hard to hurt his feelings, but she had just about done it. 

Later that night, I found myself alone in bed. I looked at the clock. It was almost eleven o'clock. With a start, I realized that he had missed almost all of RAW. With a jolt of worry, I found the remote on my night stand, flipped it on, and searched through the cable channels to find TNN. I found the channel, but only after feeling a surge of annoyance at the number of channels there were. 

I was served with a scene in the ring. Confused, I saw a group of wrestlers in the ring wearing ECW colors, beating upon several WWF wrestlers. Shane McMahon was providing color commentary, saying, "Oooh, it's a 3D!" as The Dudleys performed their signature move on Bob Holly. 

"What the hell are you doing, Shane?" I asked. I knew about the 'Invasion' but this ECW deal was new. I thought Shane led WCW. 

"What in the hell is going on here?" I heard the voice of Vince McMahon ask, as if he had heard me asking the same thing. 

"Don't you see Dad?" asked Shane mockingly. "You told me I was responsible for everything that happened out here. And I am." 

The camera cut to the disgusted face of Vince. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He looked like he was about the leave, but Shane stopped him. 

"No, that's not all. Allow me to introduce to you the new owner of ECW. I think that you know this person very well. She is my sister, Stephanie McMahon!" 

I dropped the remote, my jaw dropping in a similar fashion. My old theme music played, and Stephanie walked out, casting an evil grin in the general direction of her father. I couldn't believe my eyes. I had thought all along that she was an angel. I thought she loved her father more than any power that had ever existed. I didn't think that Stephanie could stoop to that level of betrayal. I realized at that very moment in time of what she was capable of. I realized that she was indeed capable of cheating on me. (All though, she couldn't be screwing around with Kurt anymore, I realized with pleasure.) She didn't give a damn about anything but power. She didn't give a damn about him, or about her family. 

"You make me sick," I whispered to the picture of Stephanie on the screen.

I climbed out of bed, the full shock of the situation seeping into me. I watched the celebration commence, and Paul Heyman standing there, the bastard, holding and hugging my wife. 

I watched this in rage, thinking of what I would say to Stephanie. First I would tell her that she made me sick. Then I would tell her that I knew about her sleeping with Kurt, and now, even possibly Paul Heyman. 

As RAW went off the air, I grabbed the phone that was lying on the floor. I dialed Stephanie's number. 

It rang several times. "Hello?" a male voice asked. 

"Who is this? I want to talk to my wife." I snapped.

"Hunter!" the voice said, obviously pleased, "this is Shane. Wasn't it great?" 

"I wouldn't have expected it from anybody but you, Shane. You all make me sick. You're an ungrateful piece of shit, did you know that? I worked my ass off to just make it to the leagues of the World Wrestling Federation, whereas you basically are trying to destroy it." 

"Woah, woah," Shane said, his tone suddenly cool, "now, I may be ungrateful, but I'm not a piece of shit." 

"Look, I just want to talk to my wife. Why the hell do you have her phone?" 

"She asked me to take it. She's gone with Paul." Shane snapped. 

"Who?" I whispered lethally. 

"Um, no one." Shane said, realizing that he had made a mistake. 

"Heyman, that dumb-ass piece of crap." I roared. "She's with him!" 

"Um." Said Shane. 

"Just get me Stephanie, all right?" I yelled. 

"Uh…I'll go find her and have her call you back." Shane said quickly, and I heard him hang up the phone. 

I sighed, and rubbed my temple ruefully. She was screwing around with Paul Heyman, someone who was at least 20 years older than she was.

I sighed. My wife: sweet on the outside, bitch on the inside, and slut on the outside. 

The phone rang. It was picked it up immediately. "Yes?" 

"Hunter!" said the voice of Stephanie; "you called?" 

"Yeah," he said, "just to ask you what in hell you think you're doing." 

There was a tense slight pause that seemed to last an eternity. Finally, Stephanie replied, 

"I have my own company. Aren't you happy?" 

"You are disgusting." I said slowly and deliberately. 

"Excuse me?" she asked. 

"Have you forgotten something, Steph? I work for the World Wrestling Federation. I worked my entire life to get there. I busted my ass to get there. It may be run out of business now, thanks to you and your selfish brother. Do you want to destroy that?"

"I assumed you would defect to ECW/WCW." She said coolly.

"What? Well, you assumed wrong." I snapped. 

"I can't believe you won't support me!" she exclaimed, "I mean, I married you. I'm a McMahon! I gave you the power the rule the entire company! And this is what I get in return?" 

"I married you for power." I said quietly, "but I grew to love you. And I thought the feeling was mutual. But now, I'm not so sure." 

"Hunter, of course I love you, that isn't the point—" 

"Oh, but I think it is," I began, "what the hell were you doing with Paul Heyman?"

"How did you find out about that?" she asked quickly.

"Oh, it- ah, slipped out of Shane's mouth accidentally. Where were you? In the broom closet?" I asked, feeling a rage coming on. 

"No," she snapped, "we were discussing business. I don't believe you would have the audacity of accusing me of sleeping with Paul!" 

"You've done it before," I reminded her, "remember Kurt? I figure you can't be fucking him anymore, since he's with your father." 

"I…I…I may have…but not…with Kurt…Paul…." She stammered. 

"You know, I'm glad I finally realized what a shallow person you are. I realized that once you're born a McMahon, you'll always be a selfish, greedy person. It must be genetics." 

"I…." 

"Why don't you go, go back to your party in the closet. Oh, and don't bother coming back to my house. I'm better off without you." I slammed down the phone. 

---------------------------

It has been about fifteen minutes after I made that phone call. I am in real pain. Not the type of pain you would get from an injury; this is real pain. This is pain that runs in cold shivers down my spine, and the type that makes a tear come down my face. 

I can barely move. 

I'm remembering all the times I have told her I love her, and how she was creeping behind my back all the time. I'm remembering all the times that we made love, but she was really in someone else's bed on the nights that I was away. 

All my words of love are coming back to me, threatening to hit me in the face like a fifty-pound weight. 

__

Tonight I'll sing my songs again 

I'll play the game and pretend 

But all my words come back to me 

In shades of mediocrity 

Like emptiness in harmony 

I need someone to comfort me…

THE END


	2. Lost and Can't Come Back (7/12 events of...

I stared dully at the "E C F'N W" tee shirt that lay dejectedly on the back of my hotel room chair ****

Chapter 2: Lost and Can't Come Back 

__

(From Stephanie's perspective) 

I stared dully at the "E C F'N W" tee shirt that lay dejectedly on the back of my hotel room chair. In all honesty, I wasn't sure why I had bought the company in the first place. It was Shane that had convinced me to buy it –he told me that Daddy was making a fool out of the World Wrestling Federation – and in a way, I guess, that's true.

But what are we doing, really, that's all that different? We're invading WWF television broadcasts, taking up someone else's time! We're acting like spoiled brats! Well, at least that was what Shane had been doing; I just came out as owner of ECW tonight. 

And it has ruined my life completely. 

I shocked the world and I was quite pleased with myself – at the time. Shane cheerily instructed me on what to say as an explanation tomorrow night at the Smackdown tapings, and I cheerily agreed. I was on top of the world! I owned a company! And I was sure that Hunter would support me every step of the way. Of course, I hadn't informed him of my plans, but hey – who cared? He would support me anyway.

Or so I thought. 

---------------------------- 

I was cheerfully celebrating with Shane and the other new ECW stars, when I saw Paul Heyman come out of the crowd. I threw him a smile, and he gave me one back. He started waddling over towards me. 

I turned back to Shane. I thrust my cell phone into his face, and said, "Here, take this. I'll be right back." He nodded in agreement, and I walked out to where Paul was standing. 

"Mr. Heyman?" I asked politely. 

He smirked, and said, "Ah, Mrs. Helmsley, how do you do?" 

"Quite well, thank you." I said, putting on an equally nauseating smirk. 

"You should be," he said, "I let you buy my old company." 

I narrowed my eyes at him. "No one _lets_ me do anything, Heyman. I'm Stephanie McMahon. I make my own decisions, and I make them whether or not people let _or_ want me to." 

Heyman cracked an even bigger grin. "Of course, Mrs. Helmsley." 

I raised an eyebrow. I knew by instinct that he was up to something. No one ever responded to me when I said something like that. They just shrunk back into the crowd and shut their mouths. 

Finally, my curiosity got the better of me. "What do you want, Heyman? You were looking at me before." After a slight pause, I added, for good measure: "You'd better tell me, or I'll fire you." 

He laughed. "Now, Stephanie, I'll tell you. I'll tell you what I'm up to, if you cut out the threats." 

He cleared his throat. "Stephanie, I tipped you off about the ECW. I informed you that there was a revolt going on with the former ECW stars. I was your brother's mole. I may let Shane take all the credit now, but I sure as hell played a large part in this invasion." 

"What are you getting at?" I hissed, already impatient. 

"I deserve a reward." He said point blankly. 

I almost thought that I had missed something. "Excuse me?" 

"A reward. I want a reward," he said. "In fact, I demand a reward." 

I laughed. "Who are you to demand anything?" 

"Don't you think I deserve one?" 

I looked at him with a look that I thought clearly meant, "No." He didn't seem to catch it, however. He continued to look at me, an evil spark in his black eyes. 

Mentally, I wondered what he wanted. Money? A promotion? Whatever it was, it probably wasn't too bad. There was no reason not to give him a reward. In fact, he did deserve one. I sighed. "All right. What do you have in mind?" 

The smirk on his face broadened. "I'll show you." He grabbed me by the wrist, and walked me away from the crowd. 

"Where are we going? Let me go!" I exclaimed. 

"Don't worry, _boss_," he grumbled sarcastically as he dragged me through the crowd, "I'm not going to hurt you." 

"Well, where are we going?" I asked, annoyed as my new employees stared at us as we walked (or in my case, dragged) by. 

"I'll show you." He repeated, and I rolled my eyes. He continued to lead me on - lead _me, _a McMahon – until we came out of the thicket of the crowd, to a small room. He didn't let go of my wrist as he opened the door. 

After the door opened, and he had taken me inside, turned the light on, and closed the door, he let go of my wrist. "Here we are, boss." 

I looked around. The room was completely empty, and had a boring interior to say the least – white plaster, which was cracking and peeling off in certain areas. "What's here that could possibly be a reward?" I queried, confused, and I rubbed my wrist ruefully. I looked up and caught his glance. What I saw in his eyes was something I didn't like at all. 

It was lust. 

I backed towards the door, now knowing his intentions, wanting to get out of the small enclosing room. 

"Don't be afraid, Steph," he soothed, "all I want is a nice kiss." 

"That's boss to you," I snapped. I turned around, and turned the doorknob. It wouldn't work. Frantic, I turned and jiggled it every way. It wouldn't open. 

He had locked the door. 

"Heyman, let me out. You don't deserve a reward. I…I'm married! Let me out!" I said, continuing to turn the knob. 

I heard him laugh. "Come on, Stephanie. How am I different from every other man you've slept with in your marriage?" 

I narrowed my eyes, and turned around, my thoughts of escaping temporarily blocked. "Have you forgotten who you're talking to, Mr. Heyman?" I asked, my blood boiling. 

He shrugged. "Come on. What about Kurt Angle?"  


"I never slept with him! We were friends!" I said, my voice shaking with rage – and with nervousness. 

He rolled his eyes. "Sure." 

"I – how dare you accuse me of being unfaithful to Hunter! I love him with all my heart!" I snapped, and turned back to the door. 

"And the deception continues." He said in a booming voice. 

"Oh please. You sound like a pathetic soap opera." I said, and crossed my arms over my chest. 

"Stephanie. What about Summerslam? What about all those times Hunter hurt you? Did you honestly care enough about him to be faithful? It was a fixed marriage anyway!" 

"That's not true!" I said. 

"Yes; it is. Admit it, Steph – you slept with Kurt Angle." He said, a gleam in his eye. He whirled me around, and I was suddenly face-to-face with him. 

"Why are you calling me Steph? I'm not your friend." I said shrilly. "And why should I tell you anything?" 

He put his face even closer to mine. "I won't let you go until you admit it." He said. 

"Why? Why do you care?" I asked. 

He didn't answer. Instead, he just continued to look at me. I bravely stared back. 

After awhile, he started to get to me. His eyes were menacing, and I think he already knew the truth anyway. He just wanted to hear it out of my mouth for some sick reason.

I just wanted to get the hell out of there. 

I closed my eyes, my arms falling to my sides. "All right. Maybe I had a little fling with Angle. It's over, and I do honestly love Hunter. Are you happy, Heyman? Now, I highly suggest that you let me out of this room before I fire you!" 

He cackled, an insane little cackle. "Stephanie, I guess I do have power. I got you to tell me your secret. If you fire me now, I will tell everyone, including your husband." 

"You will not!" I said in disbelief. 

"Oh, you'd better believe it." 

My mouth hung open as I tried to think of something to say in response. I couldn't let him get away – I couldn't let him tell Hunter. "All right. I will not fire you," I said finally, "but, we will act as if this conversation never happened." 

"You got it, boss." 

"And you will let me out of this room. _Now._" I said firmly. 

"Not so fast." He said, stepping even closer to me, if that was at all possible. His face was about half an inch away from mine. 

I closed my eyes, knowing what he wanted. I prepared for disgust. 

His lips were just on mine when I heard a frenzy of knocks on the door that I was backed against. Heyman immediately snapped away, and shoved me out of the door frame, and unlocked the door. While he wasn't looking, I wiped my mouth off with my hand. 

"Stephanie!" I peered around the door, and saw Shane standing there, my cell phone in his hand. 

Heyman cleared his throat, mumbled, "If you'll excuse me," and walked away briskly. 

"Listen, you got a call," he said. "It was Hunter. And, quite frankly, he was pissed." He thrust the phone into my hand, and walked away. 

I opened the door more widely, frowned, and muttered, "What could he be so pissed about?" 

"Only one way to find out," I said in response to myself. I dialed my home phone number. 

It had barely rung when Hunter picked up. "Yes?" he snapped. 

"Hunter! You called?" I said in as pleasant of a tone as I could muster. 

"Yeah," he said, "just to ask you what in hell you think you're doing." 

Now there was something that I wasn't expecting. I had honestly thought that he would be happy for me. "I have my own company. Aren't you happy?"

"You are disgusting." He whispered. 

"Excuse me?" I asked. 

"Have you forgotten something, Steph? I work for the World Wrestling Federation. I worked my entire life to get there. I busted my ass to get there. It may be run out of business now, thanks to you and your selfish brother. Do you want to destroy that?"

"I assumed you would defect to ECWCW." I said coolly. 

And the conversation went downhill from there. 

He snapped. I could barely collect myself. He accused me of sleeping with Paul Heyman, which, in a way I guess was true, but then he accused me of screwing around with Kurt Angle. That really hit me since that, in a major way, _was_ true. 

He concluded the mostly one-sided conversation with, "I'm better off without you" and I heard him slam the phone down. 

Shaking, I dropped the phone into my purse, which was slinged on my shoulder. I dully walked out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind me, still not quite believing the conversation I had just had was real. 

----------------------------

And here I am now, on bottom of the world, drinking away my woes. I don't drink that often, but I do it when I get depressed. 

My marriage is ruined, and it is my entire fault. It had finally been going so well – I was able to be with him every day, and I wasn't with Kurt. If I hadn't started sleeping with him in the first place, I wouldn't be in this mess today. 

There is no doubt in my mind now that he knew all along anyway. It had just surfaced when he saw me on RAW. Hell; now I could fire Heyman, and if he told Hunter, it wouldn't matter! I'm like my father – I'm heading for divorce. 

I emptied the beer bottle and looked at the side. It was boring and uninteresting. I smashed it on the hotel room floor. 

"Great," I muttered to myself, "I'll have to pick that up later." 

I blearily stumbled out of chair, and cast one last gaze at the ECW shirt. I headed to bed. 

--------------------------------

I woke up the next morning with the worst headache I had had in years. It was just what I needed now – a hangover. 

I rubbed my eyes, and fell out of bed. I straightened out my dress, which I had fallen asleep in, and headed to the bathroom. I grasped the sink as I looked in the mirror. My usually blue eyes were red and bloodshot. I turned the sink on, and splashed my face with cold water. I turned it off, sighed, and looked in the mirror again. 

I guess I had to get going. I still had to go to work. ECW wouldn't wait. I had to hurt my father tonight. I had to stab the knife in his back in a little deeper. 

--------------------------------

I arrived at the arena at noon. Shane, Paul, and the other ECWCW employees were already there, waiting for me. Shane looked excited, while Paul flashed me an evil grin. 

"Steph, where were you?" Shane asked as I dragged my bags into the locker room. 

"We've been here an hour already, and our boss is an hour late?" asked DDP. 

Shane turned around. "Hey, I'm your boss." DDP shrugged with an indifferent look.

"I'm sorry." I said groggily. 

"Well, it's okay." Paul said quickly, the self-satisfied smirk never leaving his face. 

"Yeah," Shane agreed, "It's all right. While we were waiting for you, we all thought of a good speech for tonight. I know I talked about what we were going to do last night, but I have a great idea for the beginning of the show…." 

--------------------------------

It is now seven o'clock. Shane was out there, with his WCW guys. I was waiting backstage with Paul Heyman and my new employees. He was rambling about how he had shocked the world last night. 

I sighed, and waited for the cue in Shane's speech. 

"Hey, Stephanie." Said Paul Heyman coolly. 

I turned around, my eyebrows knitted. "Yes?" 

"Well, we never finished out business talk from last night. After Smackdown tonight, do you want to finish it?" he said in the utmost casual voice. 

"Not really." I said, and turned back around to the television monitor. 

"I think we should. _Remember?" _he said roughly. 

I turned around; again, and moved a little closer, so no one else would hear me. "You can't threaten me with…that, anymore." 

"What? Don't you care about your marriage? Because, I think, my sources tell me, that if we don't finish our talk, your marriage _will _be over," he said his sarcasm fully in tact.

"I do care. But he already knows." The ECW music played, and I walked out stage, Heyman following closely behind with the ECW stars. 

Heyman stood on one side of the ramp and I stood on another. The ECW troopers obediently filed out, and we walked down to the ring. In my mind, everything was a fog. On the outside, my face was worked up into an evil, sinister smile. I'm good at my faces; I'll give myself credit for that. 

We walked into the ring, to a tremendous heat from the crowd. Heyman grabbed the mike from Shane, and began blabbing on and on just like Shane had been doing before. For the first time in my life, I felt sorry for the crowd. They must have been bored out of their minds listening to Heyman and Shane drone on and on. Soon I would be doing it too, so I guess I couldn't complain.

When he said he had seduced me with power, I mentally rolled my eyes. He was making me look like some kind of mindless drone. And maybe I deserved that. Maybe I was. 

"…and without further ado, Stephanie!" he said, and stuck the mike in front of my face. I took it and said, "You can just call me boss." and Heyman bowed his head and grinned. As I looked into his eyes, though, I know he didn't mean the friendly look on his face.

I just talked for awhile, dreading each minute. Shane had told me what I needed to say; I just didn't want to say it. I was putting off the time until I actually had to say it, and I was putting it off with fluff. I didn't believe I was going to say this. 

"Dad, we bought our own companies because we just couldn't wait for you to die!" I said, the awful words that I had to say finally out. I heard Jim Ross say, "Dear God" from the commentary table, and that's about what I was thinking. I don't believe I had said something so hurtful. I was talking to my father! I was daddy's little girl!

My music played, and we walked out of the ring. Shane was grinning ear to ear, and I saw him clearly mouth, "Good job, Steph!" 

I didn't feel very good. I just wanted this to end. I wanted Invasion to come and go, and have everybody forget about it. I was hurting everybody I had ever loved. I wish I could reverse the whole thing, but I can't. I'm just in far too deep now. All my money is gone. All of my World Wrestling Federation stocks are sold. And I probably just killed my chance of getting back with Dad. And Hunter. 

I'm too scared to leave now. I can't back out now. 

I'm in far too deep. 


	3. Taking Sides (7/12 events of Smackdown f...

Maybe I'm Amazed  ****

Chapter Three: Taking Sides 

Note: This is going to be AU (alternate universe) for the rest of the piece, so some events on WWF TV didn't happen in this fic, and I added some events so I can further the story. 

__

(From Hunter's perspective) 

I woke up this morning cheerful. That may sound strange, considering what I had done last night, but it's true. 

I threw on a pair of jeans, my "I Am the Game" shirt, and hobbled downstairs. I grabbed a comb and put my dirt-blonde hair into a ponytail. I continued on to the kitchen, where I grabbed a box of cereal and chowed down. So, basically, it was a normal morning, minus my normal shower, and minus one other thing. 

My wife. 

Not that I cared, anyway. She got what she deserved, and I wasn't about to turn back then. There was no way I was going to defect to ECWCW, so she could stick that thought back where it came from. And it's not like she doesn't have a place to live – she always has Angle's bed. I can never be too sure, you see. 

Right now, as far as I'm concerned, she can just go to hell. 

-----------------------------

The morning passed quickly and normally. I didn't get a call from Stephanie, which I find surprising. She normally calls back the morning after we have a fight, apologizing for whatever she had done. I would have normally accepted the apology with open arms, the fool that I had been, and I would have trusted her completely. 

Well, okay, the morning wasn't normal. Instead of continuing my exercise routines, I sat in front of the phone, staring at it. I was waiting, just waiting, for someone to call. I was thinking of Stephanie, of course, because as I said before it is her who normally calls me after we have had a fight. I was also thinking that someone else may call – someone like Shane, giving excuses. 

No one called, though, so I had a boring morning, sitting in front of the phone. I knew she was at the Smackdown tapings, but I was really wondering why she wasn't calling. Didn't she care? 

No, she didn't. Otherwise she would have never bought ECW and hurt me in the first place. 

If she really cared, she wouldn't have slept with Kurt Angle. 

-------------------------------

I ate lunch, a normal ham sandwich, in front of the phone. I made up my mind that I wasn't going to move away from the damn phone until _somebody _called. I didn't care who - it just had to ring, damn it. 

Yes – I was starting to get angry at the phone for not ringing. 

I finished my sandwich, and continued to glare at the phone. 

The hours passed, and I sat on the chair, by the phone, waiting for it to ring. After a while, I found some magazines in a basket nearby. I read through them all. They weren't very interesting – I just found out a lot about the sex life of Gary Condit. Every current damn issue of every damn magazine had something about him. It made me wonder why none of the magazines had anything about me in them.

I also learned a lot about Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's divorce. I found that helpful, since I would be soon be going through a messy divorce. 

At around 3:00, I was just reading about the fifty most eligible bachelors and thinking that I would be in that list next year when the phone rang. I dropped the issue into the basket and picked up the phone quickly. 

"Yeah?" 

"Uh? Is this Hunter Hearst Helmsley?" asked a ratty little voice. 

"Yeah, and who the hell are you?" I said, rolling my eyes, thinking that one of the neighborhood kids had found our number and was one of my fans. 

"Uh, not important."

"If it's not important, then I'm hanging up." I said, more than a little irritated. 

"My name isn't important – well, yes it is to Americans – by my call is important!" continued the voice, sounding very familiar to me. I just couldn't place a name to it. 

"What in the hell are you talking about?" I asked. 

"Uh, this has a point. Don't hang up!" 

"Whatever." I mumbled, rolling my eyes. 

"I just wanted to tell you that I saw your wife with Paul Heyman last night." The voice said, the rat-like quality of his voice nearly gone. 

My normal sarcastic reply that I had in my mouth faded. ''What?" I croaked, my flashiness immediately gone. 

"I, uh, happened to be, uh, going to the WCW locker room, and I saw Stephanie pressed against the door of a storage room, and Paul Heyman was – well –" 

"You don't have to finish that sentence." I said quietly, my pride quickly going down the proverbial drain. He didn't. 

"You do believe me?" it asked. 

"I don't know why I should." I replied doubtfully. "But, I called her last night and Shane told me she was with him. I just never thought…that they did that." I swallowed throatily, reality hitting me straight in the face once again. I had assumed that she had done it with him, but I didn't have any proof. Now, I had proof from this guy, and I didn't want it.

It hurt too much. 

"Trust me," the voice said softly and quietly, "because she's hurt me in the past too." 

I blinked in surprise. Who could this caller be? He sounded pretty much sincere. I didn't think he was lying. "Who is this?" I asked. 

(My question was met with the sound of a disconnected line. Whoever it was had hung up. 

I put the phone back on the cradle, sighing. I shook my head, and kept thinking about the mysterious caller. Who would care enough about me to tell me about something my wife had done? Who would take time and do it? 

Who would care, and who had been hurt by Stephanie in the past? The only logical answer I could come up with was Test, but I shot that down right away, since I had caused a great deal of his pain by marrying her in the first place. 

I got off the chair, and started to pace. I was no longer thinking about the caller, but about Stephanie. I was really… in shock about her…with Heyman! 

There was no guarantee she had sex with him, I reminded myself, they could have been kissing. Or maybe they were just hugging, happy that they had taken over the ECW. 

That had to be it. Stephanie would never do something like that with Heyman. 

Never. 

I walked to the kitchen on my crutch, pleased with my explanation of things. Steph had hugged Heyman because she was happy. They hugged against a door. 

I threw my plate that had contained my sandwich onto the floor in anger. People didn't hug against a door – they make out against a door! The caller was right; she was trying to hurt him. 

She had succeeded in doing one thing – making me very pissed off. 

I glared around at my surroundings, knowing that I couldn't do anything about anything, but wanting to make it change anyway. There was nothing I could do, except to throw things. 

Which is what I did. I threw plates, glasses, forks, spatulas, hell, anything I could find. After I had cleaned out two drawers and one cabinet, I started stomping a mud-hole in each one with my good leg. Soon, however, I felt pain coming to my knee from standing and kicking for so long, so I stopped. 

When I stopped, I had a great idea. I grabbed my crutch from where I had perched it against the stove, and ran as well as I could out of the house. 

-------------------------------

I was still angry, but for a different reason. 

I had a really crappy seat on the plane going to Birmingham, Alabama. 

I had gotten onto the flight just before it was leaving, so there were only limited seats left. I chose the best one, which was in second class. I had to share a seat with somebody. 

I tried to complain to the clerk at the desk, but all she could seem to say was, "I'm sorry, sir." We have really useful people in this country, you know? 

The person who I will be sitting with isn't here yet. They must be getting a magazine or something. 

Which brings me to my next point: They have really crappy magazines on airplanes. 

I sighed, and sat in my seat, trying to be happy, because other people were starting to stare at me. I had only one reason to be happy, and even the reason I was going was bad: I was going to Smackdown in Alabama. And I was going to kill Paul Heyman. Maybe I'd have a little talk with Stephanie, too. 

"Attention," said a man over the load speaker, "Flight 42 to Birmingham, Alabama about to take off." 

"Good!" I shouted in the direction of the speaker; "I need to kill Paul Heyman!" 

A few more people turned to stare at me, and I glared back at them. 

I was so preoccupied with staring out the window and imagining ways to murder Heyman that I almost didn't notice a woman sit in the seat next to me. Whoever the hell she was, she wasn't very talkative. She looked out at the aisle as if it were the most interesting industrial-gray colored carpet she had ever seen. 

I felt the plane starting to take off. I tore my eyes away from the window, and looked at the woman. She had short blonde hair, and was wearing a white business suit. I couldn't see her face at all, so I couldn't say hello directly to her, but I didn't really want to anyway. 

She must have felt my gaze or something, because she turned around. I was taken aback with shock, and all I could do was stare at her. Finally, I slowly said, "Uh…Linda!" because, well, it was my mother-in-law! 

She blinked and a little smile of amusement creeped into her face. "Hello, Hunter." 

I blinked slowly, and replied, "Why are you here?" 

"I'm going to Smackdown." She said. 

"Oh. That's where I'm going, too." I said, nodding my head. 

"What do you have to do? You're out of action." She observed, her eyes cast on my knee. 

I shook my head. "I have to talk to your daughter. She did something that…I have to talk to her about." 

"Buying ECW from Paul Heyman?" she asked. 

"Well, that too." 

"That's why I'm going. It has to do with my wonderful back stabbing children. I thought that I could finally trust Shane, that he had grown out of his father's manipulative genes. I don't know about Stephanie." She sighed, a weathered and sad look coming over her face. 

"Stephanie…man, I thought I knew her and that I could trust her," I began, "then she goes and buys a company without telling me, and she expects me to defect! And then there's Paul Heyman…." 

Linda hung her head, and rubbed her eyes. "I don't know what happened to them. Maybe it's their father. He's been corrupted with the power…ever since wrestling has become so popular and mainstream. He used to be such a loving father and a caring husband. Then…he inherited the WWF from his father. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, remember. That's what has happened to Shane and Stephanie. Even now, with Vince being the victim of this invasion, he's still the same – corrupt with power." 

"I don't know, Linda," I replied, "but what I do know is that when I get to Smackdown, I'm going to confront her." 

She didn't have a reply. 

-------------------------------

The rest of the flight was pretty quiet, because Linda and I didn't have much else to say about anything. We don't really have that much in common - other than our agreeing about Shane and Stephanie. I'm still angry with her for making Foley the commissioner and for putting Austin in Rock's corner at last year's _Backlash, _which ended in me losing the championship. I think that I can safely assume that she's still angry with me for giving her the pedigree. 

Oh well. At least I have her as an ally against everything I'm currently angry at. 

It was about a three hour flight, and we arrived at the Birmingham airport at about 7:00. The annoying attendant guy announced that the plane had touched down, so I rose slowly from my seat, and so did Linda. 

"Do you want me to call limo service to take us to the arena?" Linda asked as we started to the exit. 

"No; I think that you have to make reservations ahead of when you're going to use them, and I didn't think of doing that," I said, "we'll have to take a taxi."

"I have a few dollars," Linda agreed. 

We headed down the stairs together, and walked down the roadway to the airport doors. We entered, and made our way across the inside, avoiding the packs of people as we went. Near the exit, I caught sight of a few pay phones in a row. I told Linda I was going to call a taxi, and she told me she'd meet me outside. I agreed, found an extra quarter in my pocket, and then remembered that I would have to look up the number. I swore at myself, and tried to find a phone book. 

I found one, and dialed the best sounding Cab Company I could find. I told them that I wanted a taxi at the Birmingham airport. They said fine and that was that. 

-------------------------------

About twenty minutes later, I was paying the cab driver, a typical looking one, and heading into the arena with Linda. 

"I'm going to find Stephanie." I said, as soon as I entered the front door of the arena. 

"All right," Linda said, "I'll be going to Vince's office." 

I nodded. "Listen…Linda," I began, "I know we're not the best friends or very close or anything, but we have to work together, right? I mean, well not work together, but…be allies?" I said, not sure what I was really saying. 

"All right." She agreed. 

"Okay." I said, and we walked into the backstage area together. She headed through a door leading right, and I watched her go. I looked around, and I realized that I had no clue where I was going. The WCW locker room could be anywhere, and I had to find out where. 

I headed down the hallway going straight. I figured that, logically, the door leading to the center of the building would bring me to the locker rooms. 

I soon reached a door, and I opened and closed it quietly. It was another hallway, but there were several doors branching off of it. I silently hobbled down the hallway with my crutch, careful not to make too much noise. For some reason, I didn't want anyone, be they WWF or WCW, to find me. I wanted to raise a little hell at Stephanie, and get the hell out. Maybe I would go talk to Vince later. I remembered what Linda said, but Vince is another one of my natural allies, even though Linda seems to be angry with him. But then, she's also angry with Shane and Stephanie. 

I shrugged those confusing thoughts out of my head, and continued down the hallway. I looked inside each one of the doors, and saw nothing. They were empty. I reached the end of the hallway leading straight, and saw that it continued to go left. I rounded the corner, and saw a group of people standing just beyond me. They didn't look like wrestlers; they looked like some production assistants and make-up specialists.

I made my way towards them, and they just looked at me like I was some kind of ghost. 

"Hey," I said as cheerfully as I could, not wanting to scare them away, "do you know where my wife would be?" 

Most of them continued to look at me, but one answered, "She's in the WCW locker room with her brother. I don't know where that is, though." 

I looked at her, and asked, "Just with her brother?" 

"Yeah. The last I heard was that Paul Heyman was going around trying to recruit people to the ECW and WCW. The wrestlers are in the next room." She replied, more steadily this time. 

"I heard that from my sources as well." Said another girl. 

I frowned. "Do any of you know where the hell this place is?" I didn't want to scare them away; otherwise I would have been in their faces. They should be thankful. 

"Uh, none of us are really sure, but we think it's down this corridor. You open the door on the very end, and then go to the second door on the left side. We're pretty sure that's it, because that's where they were celebrating last night." Another man volunteered. 

I nodded vaguely. "Okay, thanks." 

I headed down to the end of the hallway, letting my anger build up. I thought about Heyman, ways to maim him, about Shane, about Stephanie, and about how it sucked that I had to hobble around on a crutch yet. The doc had told me that when I was walking long distances, I should still use it. Since I want to get in the ring as soon as possible, I follow his advice, even if it makes no sense that I can work out and that I still have to use a crutch. 

By the time I was finished thinking my angry thoughts, I was in the hallway where the door to the WCW locker room was. I left the door open behind me, and turned around to look at the hallway. 

I immediately saw the second door on the left side, and headed there. I didn't get too far when I heard a voice from behind me. 

"_Ah_, Triple H." 

I turned around, and saw Paul Heyman standing in the door frame. He quickly stepped up to beside where I was standing, and said sleazily, "So, are you interested in joining ECW? Because if you are, I have some very interesting deals for you to consider." 

I looked down at him, and gave him my very worst glare, which made normal peoples' toes curl. Heyman just smirked back at me. 

I shook my head, and grinned, a murderous grin, and continued to look at him. 

"What do you say?" he asked boldly. 

"I say that you're lucky that I'm injured. Because if I weren't, I'd be kicking your ass right now." I snapped, and turned to face him. 

"You're the kind of attitude we need," he continued, as if he hadn't heard me. 

I grabbed him by the neck with my hand, letting my crutch fall to the floor. "I said that I'd kick your ass, and I will." I said, trying to ignore my nagging injury. 

He was gasping for air, and said, in a barely audible whisper, "What? What did I do?" 

I let go of his neck, and shoved him into a wall. "Oh, you know what." I growled, and I picked up my crutch. Instead of using it to stand, I cracked Heyman over the head with it. I heard a heart-stopping thump as he crumpled to the ground, unconscious. 

"Good, that'll take care of him for awhile." I grumbled, and walked to the second door on the left. I peered through the tiny window on top of the door, and I saw a few cushioned chairs, and Stephanie and Shane were sitting in them. Shane appeared to going on and on about something, and Stephanie was staring blankly at the floor, a faraway look in her eyes. 

I reached for the door handle, and burst the door open.

"…And then mom will…." I heard Shane say, and he quickly looked at the door where I was standing. He quickly got to his feet. 

I saw Stephanie's mouth drop open. 

"Hunter! What a surprise!" Shane said, a fake grin on his face and fake enthusiasm in his voice. 

"Cut the crap, Shane." I said to him. His bright smile faded, and he pretended to look very interested at the carpet. 

Stephanie slowly rose, and looked me straight in the eye, her mouth still slightly open. 

"So, you were with Paul Heyman last night?" I asked, my voice eerily calm. 

"I thought that Shane told you that I was…in a meeting with him." Stephanie said shakily. 

"Yeah, but I can't take information seriously from that piece of crap." I replied, the anger in my voice slowly rising. I saw Shane look up, give me a little glare, and then look back down again. 

"Well, you already accused me of 'fucking' him, in those exact words, if I do recall." Stephanie said, her tone a little angry. 

"Well, now I know that you were at least in a room kissing him last night." I said, the anger in my voice now to a full level. 

She threw up her hands. "Who told you _that?_" She shrieked both the anger and terror in her voice evident. 

"So, it's true? You admit it?" I yelled back. 

"Who _told _you?" she repeated. 

"So you're admitting it's true?" 

"No, I'm asking who told you!" 

"Why would you care who told me if it weren't true?" 

She threw her ECW hat to the floor, and said, "All right? You want the truth? I _was_ with him last night. We didn't do anything." 

I merely shook my head. "Then why do you care who told me?" 

"Maybe she wants to know so there's no information leaking about the ECW. If a WWF spy eavesdropped on her business meeting with Paul, I'm sure she'd want to know who told you," said Shane, stepping up by Stephanie's side. Stephanie nodded in agreement; her mouth set in a determined line. 

"Shut up, Shane." I snapped. "Stephanie…I don't know why I even came here. Your lies are just making me angrier. I'm going to see Vince." 

I went back outside the door, leaving Shane and Stephanie to stare at my wake. 

I stopped when I was just outside, and saw Heyman groaning, barely conscious. "Oh, yeah. Your 'business partner' is out here, and he may have a bit of a headache." 

I slammed their door closed behind me, and I went to find Vince's office. 

-------------------------------

It didn't take me very long to find Vince's office, and as soon as I knocked, Kurt Angle let me in almost right away. I gave him an angry glare as I hobbled past. He merely gave me a nervous look. 

I walked in, and saw Vince talking frantically on the phone with somebody. He looked at me, and quickly hung up. 

"Hunter," said Vince, "hello. I saw the argument you and Stephanie had before and –"

"You saw it?" I asked. "How?" 

He looked at me like I was a little crazy. "Of course. They have cameras in there." 

I sighed. 

"And, I was wondering, you seem a little angry at ECW and Stephanie. I'm not sure why, exactly, but we certainly need all the help for Team WWF that we can get." Vince continued. 

His statement made me think of something. "Hey, Vince…has Linda talked to you tonight?" 

He gave me another weird look. "Linda? You mean, my wife Linda?" 

"Yeah." 

His face worked up into one of his world famous 'clueless' looks. "Uh…no. Has she talked to you about our divorce…settlement?" 

"Uh, no, never mind." I said quickly. I wondered why Linda would lie, and say she was going to see Vince, when she really didn't. It made me wonder what she was really doing here….

"All right," he said, his face again cheerful, "then, what I've been meaning to ask is, are you on our side, or are you on Stephanie's?" 

My immediate reaction was to say yes, but I thought of what Linda had told me about Vince: "_Even now, with Vince being the victim of this invasion, he's still the same – corrupt with power._" I decided that Stephanie betraying my trust was more important than that, and I replied, "Of course, Vince. I'm with the WWF all the way." 

He grinned, and ushered me to the sofa. I sat. "Well, Triple H, World Wrestling Federation Superstar, sit here and watch the rest of Smackdown. I'd stay here with you, but I have to go and find Austin – I need the old Austin. Kurt here can keep you company." 

Kurt grinned a little. I wasn't happy about having to sit with him, but I could survive. "All right." I agreed. 

"I'm off then." Vince said, and gave me the thumbs up as he left the room. 

Kurt came, sat on the couch, and watched the monitor intently. It dawned on me, that it was official now – I have officially taken sides. 


	4. Like I've Lost My Best Friend (End of 7/...

Torn  ****

Like I've Lost My Best Friend 

__

(From Stephanie's view) 

"Man," said Shane as he watched the door slam shut, "he's really mad." 

Good observation, I thought to myself. He _was_ really mad. I just don't know what to think. On one hand; I did kiss Heyman, but on the other; it wasn't consented. 

"But I wouldn't worry about him." Shane continued. 

"I would; he's my husband, Shane." I said. 

Shane raised an eyebrow. "Well, so what? If he won't support you, then he's no good. Besides, this night isn't over yet. I have a few more surprises in store." 

I stared at him, and he gave me one of those smirks that he must have picked up from Heyman. "What surprises?" I asked. 

"Oh, you'll see," he said mysteriously. 

I looked away from Shane to the door. Hunter _was_ really angry. I didn't think that I'd ever be able to get him back now. Great. This has ruined my entire life. I have no husband. No father. No mother. I've lost my best friend, Kurt Angle. But I think I lost him a long time ago, ever since that damn two-man power trip. I haven't talked to him since…God, I don't know how long. I used him, just like I've used everyone else in my life. I utterly betrayed them - all of them. 

After a while, I thought that I might have been seeing things. I could have sworn that I saw the door rattle a little. 

Soon, I caught sight of Shane looking at the door, as well. I could clearly see it rattling, as if someone was trying to open it and not be noticed. 

"Quick; grab that lamp over there," Shane whispered, "and stand behind the door. When it opens, hit whoever it is over the head." I nodded, and did as I was told. 

The door slowly creeped open, and I stood, barely breathing. It soon pushed all the way open, and I jumped out, prepared to crack a little skull. 

"Stephanie! No!" I heard Shane say. I looked down, and saw Paul Heyman, barely conscious, trying to crawl into the room. 

I walked over to the table, and plugged the lamp back into the wall. I turned to look back at the door, and I saw Shane helping Heyman over to one of the chairs. 

"Why didn't one of you selfish brats come out and help me?" he demanded angrily. 

"Hey, man," Shane said quickly, "I've been insulted enough today. You remember who you work for." 

"Well, don't you think I have the right to be?" he continued on his rampage, his deranged eyes suddenly turned towards me. "_Your _damn husband just comes out of nowhere and cracks me over the head with a crutch, and what am I supposed to do? Be happy?" 

"Look, I'm sorry." I snapped. "It's not my fault that you were careless." 

"Hey, Steph, he has a right to be mad. Helmsley told us that you may be injured, and we didn't take the threat seriously. You're one of my most valuable people, Paul, and I don't want to lose you." Shane said, throwing another one of his obviously fake sympathetic smiles at Paul. 

"Uh, I'm not mad at you," Heyman shouted madly, "I'm mad at your sister, for telling her husband." 

"I didn't tell him; somebody else did," I replied, seething. "I would have never told him what you did to me, you son-of-a-" 

"Woah, woah." Shane said. "What the hell happened between you two? You've been showing such animosity towards each other since last night. What's going on?" 

"I'll tell you what's going on," I replied, "he brought me into a room and –" 

"You lie!" Heyman shouted. "I never did that. I may be a manipulator, but I don't interfere in marriages like your buddy Angle. What you obviously did was tell your sorry no-good husband that I tried to seduce you, when it was really the other way around!" 

"What in the _hell_ are you talking about?" I roared in fury. "I didn't tell my husband anything!" 

"Believe me, Shane," Heyman said, his voice now down a few decibels, "I didn't do anything to your sister. The obvious explanation for all of this is that she tried to get me into her bed, and then she told Hunter that it was the other way around, so she could get rid of him. Which, is good for us, since we don't need him; he's injured. But, she is just being a self-centered bitch right now." 

"That is not true!" I insisted. 

"But you know that it is." He replied.

I shook my head in disbelief. This whole thing was just a mess. 

Shane was looking from me to Heyman, as if trying to figure out who was telling the truth. 

"I have to admit," Shane said, "that you are both first-class manipulators. I just think that Paul has a valid story, and Steph…is just crazed with power." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Heyman must have been paying him or something. "Get your damn act together, Steph. I'll be back to see you later tonight. Think about what is at stake here, people. This isn't an episode of _All My Children_." 

He sighed. "C'mon, Paul. Let's get out of here." Paul nodded, still rubbing the top of his head. He rose from his chair, and with Shane's help, walked out of the room. As he was leaving, he turned his head around, and gave me a self-righteous smirk that I just wanted to wipe off of his face. 

They closed the door behind them, and I was alone. 

I looked around, sighing and shaking my head. At least that hadn't been shown on TV like my fight with Hunter had been. 

Speaking of TV, I looked back at the TV to see what was going on. At first I didn't believe what I saw, but it had to be true, since I was obviously seeing it. I was seeing my mother walking down to the ring. I wondered what she had in store for Shane and me. I grabbed the remote, and turned it up. 

I wondered what she was going to say, and J.R. seemed to be wondering the same thing. 

I leaned closer to the TV, and eagerly listened as mom began to speak. 

"I was talking to Triple H before on the plane here to Birmingham," she began, "about my husband and my children. I told him that my children were ungrateful and selfish - which is true, but mainly because of one thing: their father. Their father, Vincent K. McMahon, gave them the vast majority of the problems that they have today. Look at the things that he has done to them in the past – he put me into a nursing home, which caused Shane to fight him in a street fight at _Wrestlemania_, and nearly break his neck against the Big Show at _Backlash_. He kidnapped his own daughter. How can you support him and the WWF at all? If Vince wouldn't have been so selfish in the past, his children wouldn't have rebelled against him and bought rival companies. The ECWCW as we know it wouldn't even exist if it weren't for Vince McMahon's disgraceful example!" She paused, and I tried to take all she had said in. I was selfish too; and it wasn't my father's s fault. 

"That is why you all should be cheering for my son and daughter, even if they have been ungrateful in the past. They have taken a stand, and fought against their father, as I will be officially be doing now. Thank you." She gave the mike back to the ring announcer, and headed backstage, to a mixed and confused reaction from the crowd. 

I was shocked, to say the least. How could mom just decide to look over everything we've done? I've done horrible things to her in the past – I've even slapped her! How could she just overlook all of that and blame my father? It didn't make sense. 

I was horribly confused, and I heard a small knock on the door. "Come in." I said. 

It was Shane. "Well, what do you think?" 

I stood up, and walked over to where Shane was standing. "I don't know what to think. Mom…on our side? It just doesn't seem right; after all we've done to her. Why would she do it?" 

Shane merely grinned. "Oh…we're taking a stand, remember?" 

I looked at him. "Do you know something that you're not telling me again?" 

"I may." 

"You may? That means you do." I said, seeing right through his deception. 

"All right, I guess I can't fool you anymore. I got mom to think our way. It's not that hard to do, really." 

I bet that my eyes just about popped out. "You…organized all of this? How did you do it? How did you get mom to think that way?" 

Shane made his fist into a ball, and looked at it, as if bored by the topic altogether. "Oh, I have my ways, Steph. Paul Heyman and I make a good team. And, remember, we're the poor innocent victims of our father's selfishness and neglect." He laughed, a laugh that I was sure that I didn't like. "So," he said, in between his strings of laughter, "what do you think?" 

I managed a weak grin. "I like it." 

--------------------------------

I spent the rest of the week with Shane and Marissa at their home in Greenwich. It was a fairly uneventful, since Shane would barely speak to me, because he still thought that I had tried to seduce Paul Heyman. He must have instructed Marissa to do the same, since she barely said two words to me the entire time.

When Thursday came around, I didn't watch _Smackdown_! like I normally did, even though Shane invited me to. I couldn't bare to see myself on screen acting like a complete bitch. 

I spent most of my time in the guestroom; unable to stop thinking about the mess I had gotten myself into. I briefly thought about going to see Hunter, since our house was a mere block or two away, but I decided against it, as it would have only made Hunter angrier at me. 

So, I just sat around in my room, and wandered the halls of the mansion, bored out of my mind. 

Monday couldn't have been more welcome to me, since I could get out of the damn mansion. I just had to act my fake self again, but I didn't mind too much, since I couldn't get out of it anymore. 

As I sat on the plane alone, I kept myself sane by talking to myself. I kept telling myself that I would just hide all my feelings, and everything would be fine. I owned ECW, damn it! I was rich and powerful, and no one would get away with insulting me or taking advantage of me. 

I was so incredibly wrong. 

We arrived at the arena in Rhode Island at noon. I had eight hours to waste until RAW started, and I wasted most of them in a conference with the ECWCW stars, Shane, and Heyman. I was surprised to see that mom wasn't there, and Shane told me that she wouldn't be needed until Invasion. I was confused, and I knew that I was being left out of something, but I didn't pursue it, since I didn't want to argue in front of my employees. Employees – it feels so strange to say that I have employees. Anyway, we basically covered all the corners for what we'd do that night. Shane said that the 'old' Stone Cold would probably return that night, since he still despised dad. I agreed, and voiced that that may be a threat. 

"No," Shane said, "we have them out numbered." He laughed. 

"Never estimate Daddy and the WWF." I warned everyone, but they seemed more drawn to Shane's words of confidence that we had their asses outnumbered and that they'd never survive. 

Heyman also said that he'd continue to try and recruit people, and that he'd start with Spike Dudley, since he was making an announcement to Molly Holly in the ring. If he didn't join, Heyman said, then there'd be consequences. Everyone laughed, and I think that I lost my lunch.

The meeting was adjourned at about 8 o'clock, and I had a quick dinner with Torrie Wilson, and found that she was an even bigger slut than Trish Stratus was. 

I went to the ECWCW locker room, and went to the back room, where I found that Shane was sitting. 

"Hello," he said briskly and cheerfully, "Paul should be here in a few minutes. He's talking to the Dudley Boyz."

"Great," I said, a hint of sarcasm in my voice. He didn't seem to catch it. "Do we really have to do this to Spike Dudley? He hasn't done anything." 

"We won't have to do anything if he joins." Shane insisted. 

"Big chance that'll be." I muttered.

Paul did arrive a few minutes later, and he had Booker T with him. Booker smiled at me, and I smiled back. Heyman smiled at me. I ignored him, and he sat on the couch, next to Shane. 

"Great. Everybody's here, right Paul?" asked Shane. He nodded, as did Booker T. 

"Then let's get this show on the road," he said, and flipped the TV on. 

It showed the highlights of last week's Smackdown, mainly parts of mom's speech, dad asking Austin to return, and my fight with Hunter. 

Next, Spike Dudley came down to the ring. "There's your cue." Shane said to Heyman. 

He rose, and walked out. I shook my head sadly as I watched Spike give his loving speech to Molly, and I wished that Hunter and I could be like that. Could _have_ been, I reminded myself, since he'll never speak to me again. It was actually hard to think, since Shane was adding his 'witty' commentary to the scene. Booker T looked a little annoyed, and he got up and quietly left the room. Shane didn't seem to notice as he continued to talk. 

Just as Molly and Spike were about to leave, Heyman came out and ruined their day. He asked Spike to come to the ECW, and he said he wanted to stay with Molly. Heyman insulted Molly, and then Spike tried to beat him up. The Dudleys came down, and beat up Spike. 

At that point, I finally decided that I had had enough, excused myself, and left. I walked out into the hallway, where I saw Booker T watching from a nearby monitor. He heard me come out, and smiled at me. "Hello, Mrs. Helmsley," he said in his deep voice. 

"Hey Booker." I greeted him. I walked up to the monitor, and saw that they were showing replays from the Molly/Spike incident. 

"Did you get tired with Shane's commentary as well?" he asked. 

"Oh, yeah." I laughed. "You know, Booker, you are a true champion," I said, eyeing his two championships. "You even look like a champion." 

He smiled, and looked down at them casually. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chris Jericho walking our way. My smile immediately turned into a frown. I hate him – I really, really, really hate him. 

"Hey, Steph," he said innocently enough as he approached. He stopped when he was right in front of Booker and I. "You know, I finally think we've all figured out what ECW stands for – Every Customer Welcome. I mean, look at Paul Heyman! He just proves it!" 

I put my hands on my hips and glowered at him. 

"That's some way to speak to a lady." Booker said in my defense. 

He ignored him. "And hey, Steph. You may be the queen of hardcore now – but movies don't quite count." 

If Booker T looked angry, it was nothing compared to the heat that was inside of me. "You know what, Jericho? If you're so big, then why don't you go against Booker here for the WCW title?" 

"All right." He said coolly. Booker nodded, and Jericho stalked off, a crazed look in his eyes. 

I walked in the opposite direction, and I heard Booker T calling after me, telling me not to listen to him. I couldn't listen – I just wanted to get away. 

--------------------------------

So I ran. After a while, I found that I was exhausting myself, so I slowed to a walk, and I finally collapsed at the stairwell leading to the exit of the arena. I buried my face in my hands, barely able to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill down my face. 

I felt a twinge of guilt. I deserved that insult from Jericho, and I knew it. I wasn't sure why I was siting here, crying my eyes out, when I should be in the locker room with Shane and, like it or not, Paul Heyman. I had no reason to be sitting here, since I should have known when I agreed to sell my WWF stocks that I would never have a relationship with my father. I also should have known that Hunter would never sell out on his WWF roots. Why did that come as a surprise? Add this with my mistake with Kurt….

I couldn't be caught here and risk being found by anyone – especially my father or Hunter. 

I quickly wiped my face off, and grasped the railing to sturdy myself as I rose from the floor. I brushed my hair out of my face with my hand, and I turned around to see Kurt Angle standing directly behind me. 

"Kurt…what are you doing here?" I asked finally, trying to muster a pleasant look to my face. 

"How funny," he said, an utterly serious look on his face that I'd never seen before, "that I was about to ask you the same question." 

"I…was just sitting here. I didn't have anything else to do." I lied quickly, the words hardly able to form as they spilled out of my mouth. Any time before this, Kurt would have accepted this without question. He always used to believe anything I would tell him, because he was in love with me. 

Now, unfortunately, when I needed his love he no longer had it. 

"I don't believe that for one minute," he said. "I'm not that naïve anymore. I'm a leader." 

I blinked. "I didn't say you were naïve." 

"Why are you hanging out around WWF headquarters?" he pressed. "What are you planning?" 

"Nothing," I replied truthfully. 

He gave he a suspicious look. "You know that I can't just trust you anymore, not after what you did to me and everyone else who cared about you. Now spill." He snapped. 

My mouth dropped open. I had never heard him this angry with me before. He's changed a lot. "I'm not doing anything!" I insisted. 

He shook his head. "I don't know what's happened to you, Steph. Or maybe it's happened to me. Because, now that I look at you closely, all I can see is a lying bitch." 

If I had any doubt in my mind that he may have still been my friend, this about made it vanish. 

However, as the old saying goes, the truth hurts. I burst into tears and tried to walk away from him, but he was blocking my way. All I could do was stand in front of him and cry. 

"You got what you deserved, Stephanie." He said softly. 

"I know, I did. I don't want this. I don't know why I did this in the first place," I choked in between sobs, "I'm losing everybody, Kurt. I know it's my fault, but…I don't know what to do anymore…." I stopped because I knew how pathetic I was sounding, that and I could barely choke the words out. 

I sniffled and looked at him. He looked confused, as if he didn't know what to do or whether to believe me or not. 

"Believe me, Kurt. I want to get out of this. I want to have my father back. I want to have my husband back. I want to have you back. I want my best friend back…." I said, trying to wipe the tears out of my eyes. 

He laughed. "Steph, you lost your best friend long before this invasion started. I realized how wrong I was about you when you dropped me like a rock when I poured my heart out to you." He said bitterly. 

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry, Kurt. I should have told you that we were only friends…." 

"You told the entire world we were only friends, but you never told me to my face. When I finally heard it, after the night that I thought I was sure you loved me, I changed. And it was for the better. Now, leave." He moved from the top of the stairs so I could move. 

I climbed to the top of the stairs, and looked at him. I hoped that he could see in my eyes that I wasn't lying this time. He avoided my glance. 

I quickened my pace and walked away from him, back to the locker room. I gave myself the privilege of taking one last look back. I saw Kurt staring after me, a sad look in his eyes. 

--------------------------------

I entered the locker room quietly, since I didn't want to have any attention directed to me. However, it seemed that everyone had been waiting for me, so there was a big commotion anyway.

Shane came out of the office, and he caught sight of me. He quickly worked his way around the ECW and WCW stars, obviously eager to talk to me. I started walking towards him too. 

"Steph, where were you? We had to announce the choices for Team ECWCW without you!" he exclaimed, agitation in his face and voice. 

"I'm sorry. I was upset about what Jericho said. I hate him!" I said, trying to work up a little anger. 

"That's all right. We'll take care of him at Invasion." He said assuredly, patting me on the back. 

"I know," I said. 

"Now, we have to worry about tonight," he said, raising his voice, as a sign for all of the stars to come around, "and the return of the old Stone Cold." Everyone laughed, as if they didn't care. I had a feeling I was being left out of something yet again. "Now, we need backup to interfere in the match. When Austin drives up, just take the shots from him. All right? Now get out there." Everyone nodded and departed to their assigned spots. 

"Shane, what's going on?" I asked. "Why aren't we taking Austin seriously?" 

"I'll tell you later." 

"No; you'll tell me now." I said back to him. "I'm sick of being left out on all of our plans." 

He turned back to me. "All right," he said, "I'll tell you what. Austin is on our side." 

"What?!" I said, half-asking and half-confused. 

"Doesn't it make sense? We have someone on our side in the WWF camp, finding out all of their secrets for Invasion. With Austin in his current _paranoid_ frame of mind, this is going to work perfectly." He said, a pleased look on his face. "Don't worry, Steph. Sit back and relax. We have Austin now. The WWF is going down." 

I chuckled. "I don't believe you brought this all together." I actually kind of admired his ability to lead a team. 

"Hey; I'm Shane McMahon, damn it!" he replied, and I couldn't help but smile. "Now, let's go." He put his arm around my shoulders, and led me out of the room. 

"Where are we going?" I asked. 

"We're going to say good-bye to Freddie Blassie." He said firmly. 

"Oh," I said as we rounded the corner, "he's here?" 

"Yeah." He confirmed. "He was here to motivate the WWF. They don't have a chance of winning the brawl anyway, so it was for nothing." 

I nodded. "I haven't seen Freddie for a while. I remember when he used to baby-sit me, when you were at parties." I said, giving him a knowing look. 

"Parties? Me? Never!" 

"Very funny." I said, rolling my eyes.

"But now's not the time to be engrossed in memories." He said quickly. 

"Why? Aren't we going to see –" I stopped suddenly, remembering that Freddie was obviously on the WWF's side. "Why are we going to say good-bye?" I said quietly. 

"To fire up the WWF." He said, as if that answer was obvious. "To make them mad. We'll insult a legend, and it'll only make them angrier. It'll be fun to watch, Steph, since they have no chance of being the number one company in sports entertainment after this Sunday." 

I stopped dead in my tracks. "I'm not going to do this, Shane!" 

"And why not?" asked Shane, also stopping. 

"We have no reason to!" I said, appalled. 

"We have to make them think we're bitter after Austin beats up everyone. This is the only way. If you don't do it, I'll buy ECW from you, and then you'll have nothing left." He said, and continued to walk, as if the matter was settled. He dragged me along after him. 

"How can you say that?" I asked as we approached the exit. He didn't answer me, and we remained silent for a time. I kept looking uneasily around me. 

After about ten minutes, Shane checked his watch. "He should be here soon." He muttered. I shook my head in disgust. 

Shane walked back inside. He was gone for about two minutes. When he came back, he said, "He's coming. Step out of the way." 

I did so, and Shane did the same thing. I watched the man push the wheelchair with Freddie in it out the door. We stepped in front of them, and I started to talk. 

I just let the words flow out of my mouth, and I can scarcely remember what I said. As I talked, I imagined that I was talking to Heyman, or to Shane or to everybody. 

"You and the WWF have something in common," I said, getting right in his face, "you're both about to die!" I hissed. 

I stepped out of the way, next to Shane. "Get him the hell out of here," he said, and the man did so, but not until he had the chance to give us both a horrified look. 

I walked quickly back inside to the arena, feeling like an absolute monster. Shane was on my heels. "Good job," he said, and grinned. He walked away, leaving me alone. 

I closed my eyes, and looked around. It felt great to get everything off my chest…but it had only gotten me into this mess even deeper. 


End file.
